Love's Little Quirks
by AndromacheTakaya
Summary: The year is 1442, and it has been a trying winter. At long last Valerious has an heir born to him, and the town rejoices. but the Oracle sees nothing but blood and death in this boy's future. What journey does fate have in store for the young Vladislaus?
1. Chapter 1

Chapter I- Bad Omens

It had been a short summer and a long, harsh winter the year Brishen Valerious's son was born. There was little food to be had because the first frost had come before the harvest, and the snow had prevented them from selling their metalwork to the traders that would have come through. Despite it all, the boy that his wife, Teofila, birthed was healthy and strong. As he watched his beloved wife sleep with the babe in a cradle beside her, he heard a soft click of the heavy bedchamber door. The Oracle, a dried husk of a woman, stood draped in dark and dingy rags, dragging in the ever-looming feeling of cold and unease in behind her.

"Have you come to give your blessings?" He asked, coming to stand beside her. All his people honored and respected the Oracle for her powers of foresight, though they gave her a wide berth.

The Oracle's eyes, normally a bright blue, were clouded with vision. She drifted over to the foot of the large bed where his wife slept. For a long while, there was silence, she muttered under her breath, too low for him to hear, then shook her head.

"No blessings do I see in this child's future." She said at last. Her gaze passed over the cradle, as though she were trying to ignore what she saw there. It was a solemn and condemning statement.

"What can I do?" he asked, following her gaze. At the thought of what her words could mean, horror and dismay filled his chest, making his pleas come out in twisted whispers. "He's my only son, my first child. Tell me there is something I can do."

On the naming day, Brishen christened his son Vladislaus, a name that meant 'Prince of Glory', a name to ward away evil and bring fortune to the child whose life had been condemned from the first time he breathed.

---

The village rejoiced with the news of the birth of Vladislaus. Suddenly the cold winter didn't seem so dark and cold. Brishen, who had settled the small village below the mountains and build the castle where he and his wife resided, was much loved and respected. People scrounged up whatever they could to offer as congratulations to the new father. Always the Oracle loomed, lurking in the shadows of the hall where Brishen and Teofila greeted their guests. It made the couple uncomfortable.

"I worry about the omen she sent." Teofila told her husband one evening, holding her child close. "And she hasn't left the hall since he was born. I don't know what she will do."

It was custom to give hospitality to any guest who sought it. They could not deny it to her.

"Never you fear, darling." Brishen replied, holding wife and child close. "She is an old woman. She can do you no harm."

She looked up at him with loving brown eyes. He loved her, and would never allow any harm to come to her. But there was worry there as well.

"It is not harm by strength that I fear." She said, but she let it go, putting her child in his cradle to sleep.

---

It was a month later, when Brishen was away on business, that the Oracle approached Teofila and confirmed her fears. It had been a sunny day, so Teofila went up to her sewing room where she could sit with her son in the sunlight. She had been looking out of the window for only a few minutes when the familiar creak of the door found her looking up into the Oracle's mad blue eyes.

She stood hunched, her wrinkled face and hair smeared and matted with dirt. Her hands moved one over the other, as though she were trying to wipe something off of them. Her eyes moved to the child, then quickly back up to Teofila's.

"Not safe, my dear." She rasped. "Shouldn't hold him so close."

"What do you mean?" Teofila asked, hugging her sleeping son tighter.

The Oracle came closer, running a hand just above the boy's head before snatching it back, her eyes returning to the mother.

"He will be the devil's child. A plague unto your people." She replied. "But you can save them."

"How?" Teofila whispered.

"Throw the child from the window." The Oracle instructed, miming the motion. Teofila rose, backing up and away from the woman.

"Never!" She said. "I will never kill my son! He is my child and I love him!"

The Oracle's face stopped trembling, her eyes darkening.

"Then he will be the ruin of all." She said slowly, and swept out of the room. Teofila stood for a while after she was gone, long after the clouds began to cover the sun again.

She looked down at her sleeping, innocent son, the old woman's warning echoing in her mind. The sleeping child began to stir as she watched. She held him close, and began to cry.

_A/N: Greetings! I started on another story based loosely on Van Helsing, but I felt that my dear friend Vladislaus Dracula needed a little bit of history. Deserved it, in fact, and there was plenty of room to expand. So I began this tale of his life, and I hope you enjoy it! Please Rate and Review! (apparently rating matters, but mostly I just want you to review. It means a lot to me to know what my readers think)_


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter II- Banishment and Good News

Teofila never told her husband about the Oracle's dark prediction. The old woman, on her part, departed from Valerious Hall after that day, and if she spread news of her child's fate, no one ever told her of it. Spring came and went, leading into a warm, lush summer. The crops grew quickly, and true happiness flooded back into the village. Brishen opened the hall to everyone, and for the first time since his home had been settled and he had taken Teofila as his wife, he held a great feast.

His wife watched and tended their precious son, who grew like a weed. Almost a year old, he was already toddling about the hall, shrieking with glee and dashing away whenever his father crouched in front of him, raising his arms high as if to snatch him up. Her heart warmed to watch the two of them. The change in her husband at the appearance of their son was something she had never seen before. Brishen was usually a stern, hard-headed warrior, but sometimes she would awaken at night to find him rocking Vladislaus back to sleep, humming softly. It was in those little instances she knew Brishen would never let harm come to their little boy. Slowly, she began to relax.

The harvest came, bountiful and healthy. When traders came, they traded their metalworks for goods needed in winter. Teofila asked Brishen for fabric for winter clothes.

"I can hardly keep in clothed as it is." She said, gesturing to Vladislaus, who was playing with a small wooden sword, waving his new favorite toy as he toddled about. "And his birthday is coming. I would like to make him something nice."

Brishen nodded, proud that his son was growing so quickly. Before the traders left, there was enough fabric for Teofila to make as many of the finest clothes as she pleased. She was overjoyed, and immediately began trying to measure their son for his garments. Vladislaus was not pleased at being restrained, and made a fuss, flailing his arms and grunting in a child's manner as his mother tried to hold him still. Brishen laughed aloud when the boy picked up his wooden sword and started wedging it between himself and his mother. Sternness returned when he tried to jab his mother with it. Brishen crossed over to the boy and picked him up around the middle. He looked at Vladislaus, his brow furrowing with disapproval, and the boy's lip began to tremble.

"Don't hit your mother." He growled. "Hold still and do as you are told."

He set Vladislaus back down and let Teofila continue measuring him. The boy didn't move, but looked like he wanted to cry. His mother finished and picked him up, kissing his forehead.

"What a good boy." She cooed. She looked at her husband. "I didn't think I would understand yet."

"Nonsense." Brishen replied, ruffling the boy's hair lovingly. "He's our son. He understands."

---

They celebrated their son's birthday on Christmas, accepting gifts at the feast they held. The Oracle came as well, but stayed to the shadows as she always did, and Teofila paid her no mind. Perhaps the woman would forget her dreadful prophecy.

---

It wasn't until two years later when Brishen was working in his study that the Oracle approached him again.

"Murder!" She shrieked, startling both Brishen and Vladislaus, now three, who was playing on the carpet.

"What murder, seer?" Brishen asked warily.

Her gnarled hand stretched out to point unwaveringly at his son's head.

"Your son, a monster! Blood will flow in rivers by his hand! Discard him while you can!" she wailed, making Brishen's own blood run cold.

"Are you sure?" he asked, eyes drifting to his son. He loved the boy, his heir. He wouldn't believe the old woman's ramblings. Somewhere in his mind, a shield against her words was formed.

"Quite sure, my lord. Preserve your place in heaven. Do away with him." She made no attempt to lower her voice for the sake of the boy, who had stopped playing and was looking at her questioningly.

Brishen watched his son. He looked like his mother, his dark hair growing thick, curling behind his ears. His resolve hardened as he looked into deep brown eyes.

"Out."

"My Lord?"

"Out!" he roared. Rising from his chair, he drew his sword and began advancing on the woman. "You crazed old hag! You are banished from my house, and are no longer welcome to my hospitality! Get out, and never darken my doorstep again!"

She fled, slamming the study door behind her. Brishen sheathed his sword and sank heavily back into his chair, grief and worry running rampant in his mind. Little Vladislaus moved over to him, his small hands reaching upwards for his father.

"Papa?" he asked, his head tilting slightly.

Brishen lifted him into his arms, holding him close. He could not now, nor ever imagine harming his son.

---

That evening, as Teofila was working on her embroidery, she told him the news. She was with child again. At once Brishen's mood brightened. He kissed her, rubbing her belly lovingly. Then he scooped up Vladislaus and began spinning with him, laughing at his squeals of joy.


End file.
